Submission Type
Poster
Abstract
Impact craters around the InSight landing site were measured to test the lithology of the target rocks and erodibility of ejecta. The InSight lander detected seismic waves that indicated a weak layer of rock at depths of 30-80 m beneath basaltic lava. It is hypothesized that this layer could be clastic in origin, which if ejected from local craters, would be more easily eroded by modern Mars surface processes relative to basaltic lavas. ArcGIS Pro was used to measure the volume of craters and continuous ejecta blankets at different degradation states to test their erodibility. The fifty craters were classified based on degradation state. Class 1 are idealized pristine craters and class 6 are the most heavily degraded. Data were plotted to compare volumes of the ejecta and cavity. The data for class 2 craters show that the volume of the ejecta is significantly less than the cavity for only the larger craters that may have accessed the clastic layer. This may indicate that their ejecta is composed of more erodible materials. The volume data for class 6 craters suggest that the cavities degraded faster than the ejecta. Cavities fill by mass wasting and eolian infilling while the ejecta erodes due to mass wasting (inner crater rim) and eolian abrasion. The proposed stratigraphy beneath InSight would indicate a possible hiatus in volcanism on the northern plains of Mars in favor of sedimentation.
Recommended Citation
Noragong, Mary, "131-Mars Crater Morphology and Testing the Erodibility of Ejecta" (2024). GREAT Day Posters. 29.
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/great-day-symposium/great-day-2024/posters-2024/29
131-Mars Crater Morphology and Testing the Erodibility of Ejecta
Impact craters around the InSight landing site were measured to test the lithology of the target rocks and erodibility of ejecta. The InSight lander detected seismic waves that indicated a weak layer of rock at depths of 30-80 m beneath basaltic lava. It is hypothesized that this layer could be clastic in origin, which if ejected from local craters, would be more easily eroded by modern Mars surface processes relative to basaltic lavas. ArcGIS Pro was used to measure the volume of craters and continuous ejecta blankets at different degradation states to test their erodibility. The fifty craters were classified based on degradation state. Class 1 are idealized pristine craters and class 6 are the most heavily degraded. Data were plotted to compare volumes of the ejecta and cavity. The data for class 2 craters show that the volume of the ejecta is significantly less than the cavity for only the larger craters that may have accessed the clastic layer. This may indicate that their ejecta is composed of more erodible materials. The volume data for class 6 craters suggest that the cavities degraded faster than the ejecta. Cavities fill by mass wasting and eolian infilling while the ejecta erodes due to mass wasting (inner crater rim) and eolian abrasion. The proposed stratigraphy beneath InSight would indicate a possible hiatus in volcanism on the northern plains of Mars in favor of sedimentation.